Research Associate at IITA - International Institute of Tropical Agriculture

DUTIES:

• Perform field phenotyping for various abiotic stresses prevalent in Rainfed Lowland ecosystems for rice cultivation including drought, flooding and fe-toxicity.
• Conduct field testing of different stages of breeding lines/populations.
• Create related studies in EBS, collect data, and upload the data into EBS in a timely manner.
• Assist in leaf sampling for genotyping.
• Prepare seeds for grain quality and disease resistance screenings, and for field testing on AfricaRice Research Stations and NARS in different countries.
• Assist in collection, curation, analysis research data and draft reports and research publications.
• Ensure digitization and barcoding of breeding nurseries, trials and seed inventories.
• Supervise technicians and labors on a daily basis.
• Assist in degree and non-degree training programs
• Perform any other job-related duties as may be assigned by the supervisor.

Requirements

QUALIFICATION:

• Masters in Plant Physiology, Genetics and Plant Breeding or any other related field with a minimum of three (3) years’ experience in design and implementation of experimental research on grain crops in a well-structured environment.

COMPETENCIES:

The ideal candidate must:

• Be competent in statistical analysis of research data.
• Be experienced in cereal crop phenotyping and physiology/cereal crop breeding.
• Be experience in data collection and statistical analysis.
• Have knowledge of markers assisted breeding and genomic selection is desirable.
• Have strong communication and organizational skills and ability to work in a multicultural environment.
• Have the ability to implement tasks autonomously with minimal supervision and a collaborative team spirit to work effectively in the multidisciplinary team under pressure.
• Have high integrity results oriented and able to exercise good judgment and think creatively and strategically.